D.C. names acting insurance chief

The D.C. city government has named Chester A. McPherson as the new acting insurance commissioner, days after the former commissioner was fired following his statement against the White House’s administrative fix on cancelled insurance plans.

McPherson, the acting commissioner, had been the deputy commissioner of market operations at the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking since August 2011.

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The city announced McPherson’s appointment in a press release and said he would begin immediately but made no mention of predecessor William A. White’s departure.

White told the Washington Post that he had been fired Friday. White said he was never explicitly told it was because of his Thursday press release against the White House’s plan, but that the timing was hard to ignore.

White released a statement Thursday entitled “White says president’s announcement undercuts exchanges.” But he did not completely rule out following the policy. Shortly after the statement was posted online, it was taken down.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has raised questions about the president’s proposal to allow cancelled plans to be extended, saying it “continues different rules for different policies and threatens to undermine the new market, and may lead to higher premiums and market disruptions in 2014 and beyond.”

White’s statement had said, “We concur with that assessment. Since we are just learning of this policy change today, my department will quickly address our options, taking into consideration the views of the exchange, consumer and community groups, other city agencies and the insurance companies as we determine the impact of this shift on the goals of an affordable insurance marketplace for everyone.”

Individual states are still studying the proposal. A handful of state commissioners have come out for the plan, and a handful against.

The White House “fix” allows commissioners to extend to existing customers for one year insurance policies that would have been prohibited under Obamacare.